Sunday, August 31, 2008

We have finished the Hebrew Scriptures and the Apocrypha in our quest to read the Bible in 2008.Through the rest of the year we will read the New Testament as well as documents that didn’t make it into the canon.

For September we will read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Thomas.I think that by having Michael Dowd, author of Thank God for Evolution here next week, and Hal Taussig and Art Dewey of the Jesus Seminar the following week we will give this study a grand start.

I do this with some trepidation.These are documents that focus on Jesus.Our views and thoughts about Jesus are held closely.Jesus functions very intimately in our individual lives and in the life of the church.Offering different views can be disconcerting.To shake one’s Jesus can be like shaking one’s trust or faith in the Universe itself.I
think this may be one of the reasons that the church and its clergy
have been wary about communicating scholarship about Jesus and Christian
origins. They don’t want to shake their congregants’ faith or trust.Perhaps they don’t want to shake their own faith.They
think the safer bet to keep people trusting and faithful is to repeat
the creedal or confessional view of Jesus, even though that view becomes
more incredible in light of what we are learning from modern science
and other disciplines.

I want to highlight the importance of trust.The church through its centuries has helped people maintain a sense of trust.I would say that is one of the purposes of the church.We want to be encouraged to develop and maintain an attitude of trust toward life.With that trust we are more likely to love less hesitantly and to live courageous and joyful lives.

The poem from Langston Hughes that we used for our call to worship is a poem of trust.The mother says to her son:“Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair…[But] I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’.”The
last thing I wish to do is take away the one thing the church has done
right, that is, give people a sense of trust and purpose and the courage
to keep climbing.

I am particularly enjoying reading Michael Dowd.I invite you to check out his website, Thank God for Evolution.In a recent entry on his site he addressed a question from an atheist.I want to share that question and Michael’s response.Michael has, I think, understood the point of our religious enterprise.

Here is the challenge from the atheist:

You
seem to set up evolution as a beneficial and even beautiful thing for
life on Earth. Though I accept that it exists, I think it's a horrible
thing. I can't get past what's involved in the mechanism of evolution.
Death, pain, cruelty, domination. Those are the things that push
evolution forward. What more horrible system could there be? It
certainly proves that there is no sentient being that could be
considered a loving god. If there were, the world and life would be
completely different than they are now. I can see no benevolent master
plan.

Here is Michael’s response:

...nowhere
in my book do I suggest, or even imply, that there is a force,
intelligence, or consciousness outside the Universe (or within it, for
that matter) that is pulling strings or making evolution go in a
benevolent direction....

When
I make the case for chaos and "bad news" catalyzing evolutionary
creativity, I'm not suggesting that a Supreme Being or divine
intelligence is intending favorable outcomes. Rather, I am simply
pointing out the demonstrable fact that how we choose to interpret
reality and life’s events profoundly affects the quality of our
existence—and that this is just as true collectively as it is
individually.

In
my book, I mention that many, including myself, have found the mantra
"the Universe is conspiring on my behalf" to be an exceedingly useful outlook in most situations. That is, when I act as if
this were true, I love my life. I do not, however, suggest that this
interpretation is “The Truth.” It is a statement of subjective
meaningfulness, not objective truth. And there are plenty of studies
that show that those who hold such an outlook live happier, healthier,
longer lives. As the great philosopher and father of American
pragmatism, William James, wrote in his book Pluralistic Universe,
“From a pragmatic point of view, the difference between living against a
background of foreignness and one of intimacy means the difference
between a general habit of wariness and one of trust.”

Michael makes my first point.How we choose to interpret life functions in how we live life.Dr. Martin Luther King made the famous statement:“The Universe bends toward justice.”That
faith statement allowed him and others to pursue the cause of racial
and economic justice when it seemed that the forces of the world were
against him.Would a scientist be able to confirm objectively that the universe bends toward justice?No.It is a faith statement.It is a statement of trust.It is a statement that King needed to function so that he wouldn’t despair.It is also true that his faith gave him the courage and creativity to make positive events happen.

I think that King believed that to be true about the universe.In fact, I believe that to be true.I
am a happier person and I am more confident in standing and speaking
for what I think is right and I am generally more generous and loving
toward others when I embrace and trust that the universe bends toward
justice.I trust that the universe has intelligence and that human beings reflect it.I trust that Being is better than non-Being and that it is good that we are here.I
trust that humankind will be able to survive and to thrive and that one
day we will realize peace between each other and within ourselves.I choose, on most days, to function with that faith.

The stories about Jesus function to help me trust.I trust in the stories of Jesus in the gospels.I trust in the Christ of Paul.I trust in the Jesus of Thomas and Mary and the other texts that didn’t make the Bible.All these stories, in their diversity, serve to encourage my trust in the universe, or in what Jesus called the kingdom of God.And
I trust these stories even if they never happened from an historical
point of view or even if Jesus wasn’t an historical person.I trust them as parables with Jesus as the central character.They are parables that are intended to inspire us to live more reflective, integrated, and trusting lives.

I know this is delicate ground.I don’t intend to mess with your Jesus.If you are comfortable with your Jesus, then that is just fine by me.This sermon is for skeptics.This sermon is for those who don’t believe the things we are supposed to believe in order to have faith or trust.Skeptics doubt that the Bible is the Word of God more than any other collection of writings.They doubt that the miracles of Jesus are events in history.They doubt all of the pious proclamations that believers in these things make about God.

But it doesn’t necessarily follow that skeptics are not trusting.Skeptics
tend to bypass all the things that are put in the way of trust--that
you are supposed to affirm in order to trust--and go directly to trust.

The gospels portray Jesus as encouraging people to do this.He criticized the religious authorities.He is harsh with them.In
the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said: “It would be better for you if a
millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea
than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”

He
is chastising those who construct gauntlets of beliefs and practices
for people to stumble through in order to get to the real thing.Skeptics are not interested in stumbling through gauntlets.They see them for what they are.These gauntlets have become barriers to an attitude of trust and faith rather than vehicles to an attitude of trust and faith.

It is also true that what may be a vehicle for one person is a barrier for another and vice versa.A vehicle can eventually become a barrier for the same person.We have to be careful that we don’t label teachings or practices as necessarily barriers or vehicles.They can be and often are both.

A story that is attributed to the Buddha goes like this.The Buddha once compared the dharma or the teaching to a boat tied to the side of a river.To get across the river you may need the boat. But once you get to the other side, you don’t carry the boat on your back, you leave it on the edge of the river.Once a parable, teaching, story, or practice leads you to a higher sense of awareness or trust, it has done its job.It doesn’t need to be carried, turned into a shrine, or idolized as “absolute truth.”

Christianity,
unlike Buddhism, has too often insisted that its vehicles are, one, the
only vehicles, and, two, the objects of trust in themselves. Christianity,
especially in its most popular forms, runs into conflicts with science,
with other faith traditions, and with our own intellects.For the skeptic, this baggage is too heavy and unnecessary.Because of the baggage, many skeptics have left Christianity behind.

I am concerned that we are losing our skeptics.We are losing our critical thinkers who given the false choice between reason and faith choose reason.It can leave them intelligent yet cynical, even despairing.The phrase “Jesus for skeptics” could very well define my career in ministry.I am a skeptic.

Yet I find myself intrigued, enthralled, challenged, and comforted by the Jesus tradition.It
has been a vehicle through which I have been able to trust in a
universe that bends toward justice. Aspects of the Jesus wisdom
tradition have inspired some people, like Martin Luther King, to stand
against forces of oppression, inspire creativity and encourage trust in
the ultimate goodness of humanity.

We shouldn’t judge the Jesus wisdom tradition on the basis of its misuse.Nor do I think we should dismiss or discard this powerful force for individual and social change.How
then can this matrix of “Jesus lore” become a vehicle for trust in the
universe, a spark to creativity, and encouragement towards social
justice and peace, rather than a barrier?That is what I am trying to get at when I title a sermon, “Jesus for skeptics.”

This sermon is the start of a series of sermons as we work through the Jesus scriptures or the Jesus lore.I
am going to close this opening sermon with a few statements of what I
think is happening regarding the Jesus tradition in our time.You can call it an outline of a “Jesus for Skeptics Manifesto.”

1)Categories of orthodoxy and heresy are being discarded.These
categories of right belief and wrong belief create institutions of
control, stifle creativity, and do not serve the cause of truth.

2)Jesus is not the possession of Christians alone but is universal.Like all of the wisdom traditions, the Jesus wisdom tradition is available to all of us.Jesus can and has been incorporated into other systems of thought.I am thinking of a book on my shelf called the Muslim Jesus.These are collections of sayings of Jesus incorporated in to the Muslim tradition.This cross-pollination is being celebrated.

3)In turn, other wisdom traditions can help us understand Jesus in new ways.For
example, Jesus as the Bodhisattva (the one who achieves enlightenment
and out of compassion helps humanity by revealing himself at our level
of understanding) or Jesus as Ishta Devata (a particular deity that one
chooses for worship or meditation) may be helpful in constructing
meditative or spiritual practices.Jesus the social prophet, the wisdom sage, the cosmic Christ, and more are all available to us.

4)We are claiming the freedom to write our own gospels.Paul had a gospel.Other
communities who attributed their gospel to a figure such as Matthew,
Luke, Thomas, John, Mary, etc. created their own gospels of Jesus for
their time.This creative process didn’t end 2000 years ago.What is the gospel of Jesus in light of modern cosmology, evolution, and the challenges the global human family faces in the 21st century?Write it!

5)The Jesus wisdom tradition is intimately connected with the needs we face in the 21st century.It is concerned with right relationships between human beings and between human beings and Earth’s creatures.The reign of God is one of its powerful symbols for peaceful, joyful co-existence on Earth.

That is the beginning of my manifesto of a Jesus for Skeptics.Perhaps it is a Jesus even us doubters can embrace.

"What I am proposing is that the psychology of the
mature human being is an unfolding, emergent, oscillating, spiraling process,
marked by progressive subordination of old, lower-order behavior systems to
new, higher-order systems as man's existential problems change."

Nested holons.

DNA—we retain it

Newton and scientific theory nested in larger theory

The same is true for psychic, social, and spiritual
awareness

Thesis of Sanguin’s book--

1st Holon

BEIGE

SurvivalSense

"ME"

Group bands together to stay alive

PURPLE

KinSpirits

"WE"

The sense of family-tribe

Christ
is the Tribal Christ. "He makes the world go 'round when proper ritual is
performed....He answers the prayers of those who are obedient."

Ancient religion.But
is present with us.Prayers to deities
to solve our problems.Not a bad thing,
but it can be if it isn’t aware of its limitations.

JC Press survey of those who would pray for a miracle rather
than trust the doctor.

Interpretation of events because we have been disobedient
and so forth.

2nd Holon

RED

PowerGods

"ME"

Power-action driven,

egocentric

The
Warrior Christ. "Followers of the Red Christ go with him into battle on behalf of
their tribe, nation, or belief system....In its most positive expression,
following this Christ gives us the energy to "fight" for what we
believe in--to take a stand."

BLUE

TruthForce

"WE"

Purposeful, absolutist, "one right way"

The Traditional Christ, a
Divine Scapegoat. "As part of the divine plan, God sends his only son to suffer and
die on behalf of humanity, modelling sacrifice of self for a future reward....Christ's
own sacrifice invites followers to led lives of self-sacrificial love, with the
hope of eternal reward.

Constantine in the 4th century unified
Christianity under the Roman Empire.“Under this sign conquer”The
result was centuries of Christendom.Outside the church there is no salvation.This is the Christ of patriotism.Creed, confession, Bible.

3rd Holon

ORANGE

StriveDrive

"ME"

Entrepreneurial, materialistic, success-driven

The Modern Demythologized
Christ and Christ as CEO. "Christ is seen as the human one, a teacher of spiritual
wisdom....In its positive expression, the Orange stage helps us transcend the
literalism of previous levels....modernist values give us permission to think
for ourselves.

The Egalitarian-Postmodern
Christ.
"The postmodern Christ embraces multiple cultures and downplays the
"Truth" of any particular religious system. The Green Christ draws
the circle ever wider, so that it includes the outcasts, the left-behinds, and
the marginalized.

Social justice and human rights are also values of the
Enlightenment.Lack of Spirit and this
Christ doesn’t seem to be up to the task of dealing with our global problems
and connecting us as a human family.

4th Holon

YELLOW

FlexFlow

"ME”

Natural processes, mutual realities; live for mutuality

The
Integral/Ecological/Cosmic Christ. "The Yellow, integral Christ encompasses the
universe and all cultures as an integrated ecology of systems....Followers of
this Christ become fascinated by the world that the new sciences are
discovering, and by how this world connects to the core metaphors and
narratives of the Judeo-Christian tradition."

TURQUOISE

GlobalView

"WE"

Harmony, holism, spirituality

The Mystical Christ. "At this level, the
world is experienced--not merely conceptualized--as one. A follower of this
Christ does not merely perceive the universe an integrated whole. She knows
herself to be a form of the integrated whole, the part in whom the whole is
manifest. The great diversity of life is also an expression of the Holy One.
All of life is sacred revelation, for those with eyes to see."

Thunder, Perfect Mind

Conclusion

All of these holons are within us and we draw from
them.They function within their limited
contexts, when we recognize these contexts are limited.It is not a matter of giving up or getting
rid, as if we could.But of being
aware.

May the Truth of the Voice
resound to the Greater Glory of God.
May the Love and Wisdom of the Great Mother find a resting-place in the fallen
Soul.
May the consciousness of Christ be as a guiding Light unto all beings.
For ever and ever. Amen.

Audio and text of my sermons are now on Southminster's web page. You can also get audio of sermons and podcasts of my radio programs at one place on my Soundcloud site. Podcasts of only my radio shows are on Podomatic. Thank you for listening and reading!